Preparations for the program

Necessary documentation

Visa

A Student that participates in the “Summer Work and Travel USA” program gets the J-1 visa by the American Embassy which is the legal document for entering the USA. This document is issued with the obligation for the candidate to return to their motherland after the program finishes. According to the rules of the USA Government, the duration of the visa cannot be longer than four months. The student has the right to stay one more month as a tourist, after the expiration of the working part of the program i.e. 30 days that are intended exclusively for traveling. Participants of the program come to the USA Consulate in person for the purpose of the conversation.

Tax for the certification of the passport and visa is 160 USD.

Over 95% of our students who apply, get the visa!

Health Insurance

ONLY IN WORK AND TRAVEL GROUP AGENCY PARTICIPANTS GET FIVE MONTHS OF HEALTH INSURANCE INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM PRICE!

THE FIFTH MONTHS OF THE PROGRAM IS VERY IMPORTANT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE INSURANCE, BECAUSE STUDENT TRAVELS AT THAT TIME AND THEY NEED FULL HEALTH PROTECTION!

After finishing the working part, there is an additional month with the purpose of traveling through the USA, in which there is a chance that student will need some kind of medical services, and, in this case, that is covered by providing the health insurance for the whole period of stay in the USA.

Health insurance is obligatory and it is included in the program price. The insurance is valid during the continuation of the program. It covers all accidental cases, but it does not cover teeth repairing, vision correction and inherited disease. Each candidate will get their own insurance card and they have to follow the instructions for the use of the insurance and inform the insurance company about the potential use of the medical services. The medicine expenses are not included in the medical insurance. Each candidate has to take care of themselves and be able to work and to be healthy to apply for the program.

Sponsor/organizational company from the USA is the only competent for the health insurance.

DS 2019 form

DS-2019 form is an official certificate which enables a candidate to be the part of the cultural exchange program; it contains the data about the program organizer, program duration and it specifies the point of the whole process. DS-2019 is issued by an American organization which is the organizer of the students stay in the USA after the reception into the program. At the same time, the form represents the proof that the candidate can legally work in the USA.

DS-2019 is a document on the basis of which one applies for the visa. Each student registered for the program, when entering the Embassy, has to have this form. It has to be signed and be kept during the travel and stay in the USA, the same as with visa. Your visa is not valid without this form. DS-2019 has to be carried with the passport all the time during the program duration.

If there is a difference between the date when the visa started to be valid and the date when the program starts on the DS-2019 form, (even though these dates match in the most cases) candidate is obliged to stay in the USA until the date, which is given in the form I-94 which one gets when they enter America. If the candidate loses DS-2019, they are obliged to inform the agency representative or the company itself which is the program organizer in America.

Social Security Number

SSN is a social number which everyone has to have in order to legally work in the USA. This number is given after the application for it, after arrival to America. It is necessary to apply for issuing SSN in the nearest Social Security office after arrival to America.

The Candidate has to enclose:

passport,DS-2019 form,J-1 visa,I-94 form,Certificate of employment (official letter signed and certified by the employer).You get the SSN after 15 -20 days, and the card with the number after 1-3 months. Participants of the program can work with the certificate that they applied for the SSN. If the status is confirmed – student will get the social number (SSN), if the status is not confirmed, application for the social number will be sent to the State Security Department in order to check the student’s status. That slows the process of getting the social number. Only the students with the confirmed status can get their social number. Students who are not confirmed as being in the SEVIS system or they do not show up at work the first day have the “NO SHOW” status, and they will not get the SSN (these cases are rare).

SEVIS

Student & Exchange Visitor Information System – SEVIS is a system which serves for the purpose of record and following the participants of cultural exchange during their stay in the USA.

All the participants are registered in SEVIS. The SEVIS document (I-901) is obligatory for getting J-1 visa. You can get detailed information about SEVIS on the website: www.ice.gov

I-94 formular

I-94 form contains the information about the date of arrival and departure from the USA. Every passenger who is not the citizen of the USA is recorded on the border while entering the USA. Representatives of the Immigration Department register every student on the border electronically when entering the USA and that represents the date of entering the USA, as well as, the status of J-1 visa.

"Duration of status” is also written on the form (D/S- Duration of Status) and that date matches the date on the DS-2019 form, plus 30 additional days for the traveling. If the dates are different on I-94 and DS-2019 form, a candidate is obliged to leave the country according to the date on the I-94 form.

If the candidates stay in America after the date specified in I-94, they risk being deported and that the entrance in the USA is forbidden for them in the future.

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